Welcome to the launch of InsideLakelandPD - our journey into the world of web logs, and your gateway into the Lakeland Police Department.
The obvious question to ask at this point is - why would a police department host a blog?
The answer is quite simple. Our community policing philosophy is committed to an open and transparent relationship with our community. We believe in the notion that we are the community's police department, and as such we remain open to the public so that you may learn more about what we do. Capturing the technology of the Internet and blogging is an innovative way for us to maintain open lines of communication with our customers.
We have been planning this blog for several months, conducting research into how other police agencies use blogging, and exploring how this mode of communication can enhance our relationship with the community. Our research suggests that blogging is relatively new to the world of policing with few agencies using this technology today. More importantly, we found our customers to be genuinely interested in what goes on at LPD, what we are doing to reduce crime and disorder, how we strive to reduce fear - and people truly want to see our members as real people.
What happens behind the scenes at the Lakeland Police Department and the people who make our agency successful are interesting stories but not always newsworthy. We enjoy a positive relationship with all of our local media, but we do not rely on the electronic or print media to tell our complete story. This is where our blog becomes a gateway - your gateway - into Lakeland PD.
Our goal is to share a glimpse behind the scenes and let you know what is going on at your police department. The blog will be a forum for us to release news stories, highlight crime prevention tips, educate the public on crime trends and important safety information, introduce you to members of our organization, and in general keep the public informed on your police department. In doing so, we will be open to comments, feedback, and criticism. Comments and feedback to the blog will be moderated to avoid profane, vulgar, or slanderous material from being posted, but we remain open to suggestions from the public that will help shape the level and quality of service we provide each and every day.
As the Chief of Police, I am extremely proud of the dedication and professionalism our members bring to our organization on a daily basis. They are the heroes of our community and deserve some positive recognition. I thank them for their commitment to Lakeland, and I trust you share this sentiment. We hope you get to learn more about them and their efforts through this forum.
Welcome to InsideLakelandPD.
Roger Boatner
Chief of Police
Thank you to Marilynne James for her suggestion to recognize our Community Services Unit. These folks do a great job working with the neighborhoods and getting the word out about ways we can prevent crime from occurring. The Safety and Health fairs you mention are becoming very popular! We will schedule a blog posting following an upcoming fair. Great idea to implement a buddy system that you described.
And we also appreciate Vince's kind words from his post. Our members take great pride in the service we provide to the community, as well as the unwavering support we get from throughout the city.
We appreciate all the feedback comments we have received so far.
Posted by: Asst Chief Bill LePere | February 19, 2007 at 10:49 AM